There's no doubt that every dieter will run into some trouble. Don't worry, you aren't the first person to run into trouble trying to follow this diet. Here are some common problematic issues and solutions for them.

Losing Motivation

The first issue is losing motivation. Whenever anyone decides to change their life, they get excited and are very motivated. After the intitial excitement, they lose that motivation. You have to stay motivated. Hang up a pair of jeans that you haven't been able to wear for years, and let that be your motivation. Find ways to keep at it.

Newness Wears Off

After the initial success, most people think they are done. The first few weeks are very exciting because you actually lose a good amount of weight. People get excited and think that they are done. Remember, although you are losing weight in those first few weeks, a lot of that (about two-thirds) is water weight and dehydration. You can't stop here. Keep going and you will eventually be burning just fat. Part of this failure is initial fast success. Just stay with it and be patient. See the section on breaking through plateaus for more detail.

Getting Boring

After about two or three weeks in phase I, most people get bored. How many days in a row can you eat eggs for breakfast? You have to find ways to keep this fresh and exciting. Just remember your motivation. You have to do this for your health and for the ones you love. You have to be around for them.

It usually starts with something inconsequential. An ice cream bar after dinner, or a cookie. Eventually, it becomes a bowl of ice cream every night or an entire box of cookies nightly. That has to end. This is destroying all of your progress and reversing the metabolism status we worked so hard to achieve. Get back on track.

If you can't handle it, you can ease into phase II a little earlier than you initially wanted, but realize that the weight loss will be slower now. You will still lose weight, you just aren't going to notice it daily on the scale.

Reverting to Phase I

When you realize how much you have screwed up, you rush back to phase I for a day. Don't be this reactionary! You didn't gain this weight overnight, and a few days of phase I isn't going to fix anything in the long run. Sure, you will dehydrate and shed some pounds and feel good, but that is temporary.

The C3 Diet is a life plan, not a two-day plan. If you want to go back to phase I, jump in with both feet. Go all the way! Go back to phase I for at least two weeks, but the ultimate goal is to get to phase II and live the rest of your life in phase II. If you start yo-yo dieting and bouncing back and forth between phases for short periods of time, your body will become very efficient at storing fat. See the yo-yo dieting section for details.

Distractions and Excuses

Travel, co-workers, holidays, occasions, and anniversaries are all excuses and distractions that can get in the way of your diet. Don't let this happen to you. There is no reason to let Thanksgiving Dinner screw up the diet you have worked so hard to build up. You can cheat a little during Thanksgiving, but you know how much you can tolerate. Don't let this become an every day affair. Why? After Thanksgiving comes Christmas. Then a wedding, then winter break, then a vacation, then a cruise, then a business trip, then Easter. Then even more weddings. Don't use these occasions as excuses to get off track.

"Anyone want pizza?" Don't let co-workers, family, and friends dictate what you eat. Sure the game is on, or it was a late night of work, that's not an excuse to eat bad carbohydrates and bad fats. Be reasonable and make your own decisions.

Don't cheat, then go back to phase I. Don't be a yo-yo dieter. You will just become very good at storing fat. We can't have that.

Get Back On Track

So you screwed up. You lost 50-60 pounds and got very excited, but your bad habits crept back. You started cheating a little bit here and there, then you were back to full blown old you.

It's time to get back on track. Just like you lost the 50 pounds the first time, you can do it again. Start over. Completely. Get back on phase I, then move on to phase II.